organizing your spare parts

[cobraman]

Just wondering how you guys store all your "extra" parts. Do you dump everything in a box or boxes ? I sort mine by body parts, interior parts, engine parts and finally wheels,tires and suspension parts.

[Dr. Cranky]

My treasure trove of really neat parts are in a container which I keep in an undisclosed location. LOL.

The rest are in bins, etc . . .

I have drawers for the kits I have built more than six times or so: 41 Willys, 32 & 34 Fords, 55 Chevy Belaire, and 50 Chevy Pick up, etc . . .

[slusher]

l keep wheels and Tires in those flat organizers from hobby lobby. they cost about 1.25. l have 4 of them. bigger parts engines ans misc parts are put in little bags and l write the kit they came from on them and keep in a rubber maid cantainer that looks like a small tool box with a handle on it. hope this helps...

[Ryan S.]

Pretty much the same way I do mine. I have a couple of flat organizer boxes with moveable spacers that I have wheels/tires and engine parts in. I have engine parts organized by type of part, heads/ valve covers, carbs, intakes etc. Makes it easy to find parts. I also have some small plastic boxes for interior parts, exterior parts, chassis parts etc. I do keep complete sets together and marked in small boxes or bags ie, complete engines. All this makes it much easier to find parts when looking for them.

[Nick Winter]

This is how I have 90% of my stuff organized, the rest isn't,

Nick

[91blaze]

I have a compartment-type toolbox that I keep my parts in for now. I'm going to have to buy more toolboxes soon though cause I'm running out of space. I also use old tackle boxes that I find at garage sales and flea markets.

[Ramfins59]

Yeah I have a rolling plastic type cart with 5 drawers; 1- wheels & tires. 2- engine parts. 3- chassis parts. 4- clear parts (windows, headlight & taillight lenses, clear & red sprue pieces. 5- the biggest drawer, for bodies & body parts.

I have my aftermarket stuff separated and clipped together with binder clips by category; Bolts & fittings, Brakes, Engine, Exhaust, Hose, Interior, Lights, Sets (for specific cars), Trim (Chrome trim pcs., skirts, Lake Pipes, etc..), Wire.

I used to go through the horror of throwing everything into one BIG box and got really tired of digging thru it all for a specific part. It's much better and easier to find stuff when organizing things by category... less frustrating too, and also helps the project at hand move along a little quicker.

Jar and rattle can paints are also organized by color. I find it much easier to work on something when everything is all organized....... I know... organization is a sign of a sick mind...... but it works for me.

[Dr. Cranky]

Thank havens for plastic bins and containers and drawers, right?

[southpier]

i've gone through the drawered bins and clear organizer boxes. now i'm all about 2 sizes of zip lock bags and they all go into catalog file boxes. living in small digs sometimes means camouflaging your stuff.

[madisonwoodsmith]

What is this "organization" thing you refer to? Really though, I haven't got enough extra parts yet to speak of. I do have several of the flat, compartmentized boxes for waht parts I do have and plan on more of those. In addition, I will have a 5 drawer plastic "chest" to hold larger parts like bodies, chassis and interiors, along with kit and paint storage. One day, I hope to have efficient storage lie I have in my woodshop...NOT!!!

John

[Joker]

Two under the bed sliding storage containers with parts in Ziplok baggies.

[Dr. Cranky]

I got the zip lock tip form Donn Yost's videos. He keeps all his painted parts in Ziplock baggies, and it helps keep everything organized, plus they are pretty cheap.

[Jordan White]

Got a nice large tackle box from Walmart to house my spare parts, modeling tools, and a plethora of springs.

[eizzle]

I use the workshop organizer plastic drawers. I like the amount of storage and the fact they don't take up to much room.

[High octane]

Organize, what's that? I keep most of my spare parts in labeled clear plastic drawers, some in shoe boxes, two shoe boxes filled with aftermarket parts, and decals in a 3-ring binder. I usually have a good idea where to find what I need if I have it.

[Mercman]

I use parts bins.

For the bigger things. Like tubing styrene shhet, etc.

And lots of plastic shoe boxes.

[vintagestang]

I just put them back in the box so I know what kit it came from.

[Dr. Cranky]

I do that too, but with the spares, I put them in plastic bins like the ones above. Very nice.

[Junkman]

[Foxer]

I just put up a shelf on a bare wall this weekend and finally used some plastic drawer racks to get organized!

[torinobradley]

I have pretty much a combination of all the above. I have large plastic bins under the bed for the main junkyard and a second one for bagged "rebuilders". Then I have a bookshelf full of the clear plastic shoe boxes with different parts in them. One would have wheel and tire sets that are bagged, another is a box labeled "Ts and As" that has, no, not those, but model Ts and As in it. Another has whole engines bagged and labeled, another has resin parts, special parts, photo etched, wires, etc... Also put current projects in some of them as well when I don't have a box for it. I also have quite a few of the flat, adjustable slot plastic boxes with various parts sorted in them, a couple for suspension parts, three or four for engines, several for wheel sets and wheel/tire sets as well. Plus a bunch for other miscellanious parts. I also have larger plastic boxes for common stuff like small block motors, big block, etc. I also have some larger parts bins that were orginally terminal bins at a car parts store that are about 24"X36". Those are great for sorting out tires.

All paints and tools are sorted simularly as well. Makes it much easier to just pull out the box that has all the blades in it, rather than search for a while for a replacement #11...

I used to use the big, tall drawer cabinets for sorting parts but after my cat knocked it over and the drawers went everywhere, spilling all those little bitty parts into the carpet... I was finding parts the next six months and still haven't sorted everything back out.

[charlie8575]

Right now, most of spares stay in their source boxes.

Someday, when time, space and money present themselves, I plan on moving to the compartmentalized plastic boxes like Christian uses, and some of the screw cabinets like a few of you use, too.

For now, just make do and hope you can remember what went where.

Charlie Larkin

[moparmagiclives]

I inherited my 8 year olds old dresser last year. I went to auto zone and asked for some of the cardboard boxes they use to store parts in the stock room. They have 4 dividers with them but have slots for 8 i think,and I can fit three boxes side by side into each dresser drawer.

[kobuzz]

[crazyjim]

I use the plastic drawer things and separate the parts by the drawer, ie. air filters, carbs, shifters, etc. I have no idea what part came from what kit. I also use the small baby food plastic containers for wheel/tire sets and engines. Evergreen and Plastruct hangs on peg board in numerical order with Pegasus wheel/tire sets. Bottle paints are on tiered steps in numerical order. HOK paints are near the spray booth separated numerically by type (basecoat, pearl, kandy) in plastic trays. I've also made use of corregated sign material by making custom sized trays for the baby food containers.